Harpoon Tailed Scorpion Fly
Imagine a wasp. Now attach the back half of a scorpion to it, add wings, and scale the whole thing up to seventeen inches. That is the Harpoon Tailed Scorpion Fly, and the buzzing it makes as it circles is the sound of a very specific kind of nightmare. Dark yellow with brown markings, it is easy enough to spot in flight and easy enough to swat away during the day. The real problem is what it does at night.
The scorpion fly is a parasitic breeder. It waits for a mammal to fall asleep, then lands quietly and stings with its curved, scorpion-like tail. The sting implants eggs beneath the skin. Within twenty-four hours, the eggs hatch and larvae begin feeding on the host from the inside, secreting a low-level soporific toxin that keeps the victim drowsy and compliant while the larvae grow. Left untreated, the progression is predictable: muscle spasms, deepening fatigue, organ failure, and then the larvae burst out as fully formed adults, ready to begin the cycle again. Medical treatment within the first day can remove the larvae and save the host. After that window closes, the options narrow.
On the plains and outskirts of the Overgrowth where the scorpion fly lives, sleeping outdoors without a sealed tent or a companion keeping watch is a calculated risk. The insect avoids forested areas, preferring open terrain where sleeping mammals are easier to find. If cornered and attacked, it will sting defensively, and that sting carries the same soporific toxin that its larvae produce, enough to incapacitate an attacker long enough for the fly to escape. The buzzing at twilight is the warning. The lump that appears the next morning is the consequence.
The scorpion fly is a parasitic breeder. It waits for a mammal to fall asleep, then lands quietly and stings with its curved, scorpion-like tail. The sting implants eggs beneath the skin. Within twenty-four hours, the eggs hatch and larvae begin feeding on the host from the inside, secreting a low-level soporific toxin that keeps the victim drowsy and compliant while the larvae grow. Left untreated, the progression is predictable: muscle spasms, deepening fatigue, organ failure, and then the larvae burst out as fully formed adults, ready to begin the cycle again. Medical treatment within the first day can remove the larvae and save the host. After that window closes, the options narrow.
On the plains and outskirts of the Overgrowth where the scorpion fly lives, sleeping outdoors without a sealed tent or a companion keeping watch is a calculated risk. The insect avoids forested areas, preferring open terrain where sleeping mammals are easier to find. If cornered and attacked, it will sting defensively, and that sting carries the same soporific toxin that its larvae produce, enough to incapacitate an attacker long enough for the fly to escape. The buzzing at twilight is the warning. The lump that appears the next morning is the consequence.
